Good rifle?

T

ttdub

New member
Hey guys... I've never really been into sniper rifles except for probably the 50 cal, but lately, I purchased a Mosin because it was so cheap, and now I'm obsessed. Because I have little to no knowledge on them, what do you guys suggest for a great, very long range rifle for around 500? I was looking at the Savage 10FP, and it looks awesome, but I really like the look of a m110 (it's too expensive though. lol). Anyway, if you guys could suggest some really nice looking, long range rifles and calibers, that would be great! I just love the idea of being able to hit something from over half a mile away.
 
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Put that $500 in the bank and help it grow to at least $1000. I can recommend several rifles in the $400-600 pricer range but either they don't have optics or they will need to have the optics replaced. With $1000 you can get a rifle and optics and still have some money left over to go shoot with.
 
We all have our likes and dislikes, what works for us may or may not work for others.

You want a mid range rifle that shoots well to 500-600 yards.

Forget that, (pretty much all major rifles will do that).

Go play around at a gun store and see what fits you and looks good to you.

Then select a caliber that, even if you reload, is cheap to shoot and available.

Any major rifle round will shoot at 500 yards. From 223 on up (I shoot a 223 AR to 1000).

I'd recommend against the magnums, don't need them, they are hard to shoot and cost more.

Something in a bolt gun, shooting anything from 243 to '06. (I like the 243, supper accurate, cheap to shoot and tons of match bullet out there.

Get a med prices scope, Weaver, Leupold, Redfield, $250-500. You don't need a multi thousand dollar rifle.

You don't need a multi thousand dollar rifle (the most accurate rifle I have is one I built for my wife. A Mod 70 Win in 243. I have less then $250 in it not counting glass. It shoots better then any of my target rifles.

What makes any rifle a target rifle is the amount of work and effort one puts into learning to shoot it.

If you was to load some good ammo for your Mosin, and learn to shoot the Mosin, spend s bit of time practicing, I bet, as is, you'll find your $100 rifle more then capable of being able to shoot 500 yards or more.

I run CMP GSM Clinics where we use as issued military surplus rifles, I've seen some dern good scores fired with a Mosin. I've been to some pretty hard core Long Range Matches where shooters use $5000 rifles and can't hit crap.

Money doesn't make a target rifle, the shooter does.
 
I really appreciate the well thought out post. I really just one one that's pretty and can go as far as possible for around 500 bucks, and that doesn't include a scope. I should have been more specific. I would want to go for the scope a little later.
 
Kraigwy (as always) gives good advice, but you really need to elaborate on what you are wanting to do.

Define "very long range". People who actually shoot long range have differing opinions as to what this means than those who do not.

Are there ranges available in your area to shoot "very long range" however you define it?

What are you planning on shooting at this "very long range"? A NRA LR target is actually pretty large, and a rifle that holds 2 MOA is technically capable of cleaning it (20" 10-ring).

There are a few package deals from Remington and Savage in your price range, but they would be scoped hunting rifles, not "Sniper Rifles". A "tactical" or target/varmint rifle will have a heavier barrel, and a better stock, and will be over your price range for the rifle alone, not including glass. A Remington 700 SPS Varmint is not much over your price range, and can be a quite capable base for a LR Rig. A Savage 10 FCP is more expensive, but comes with a much better stock than the Remington (Adding a good stock to the Remington will cost more than buying the Savage that already has a good stock)

With a little work, a Mosin can be quite capable at long range, it all depends on what you are wanting to do.
 
I get what you're saying... Let me try to elaborate. I want the longest range, most reliable rifle I can find for around 500-700. I want a very common caliber (many rounds made), but something bigger than a 5.56 (.223). A 1000 yards would be awesome as far as a specific range, but farther is even better. I don't want a giant .50 cal round, so I know there will be some limitations on range that I must accept. It would be great if it had a rail system on it, but it's not necessary. I want to use it from hunting to a possible SHTF rifle (if you know what I'm talking about). I want to move farther from the Mosin because I love the look of a modern rifle, and I'm ready to spend more money.
 
I like the Rem 700 SPS. I use mine for <750-800 yard shots(punching paper). Over that is where the 300UM,338,50 bmg ..etc come in for me. There are people that shoot a .308 out to a mile, but that isnt me...lol. I use my 50 for longer shots.. That being said though I love the SPS or a Howa 1500.. etc, you can really take your pick, most rifles will shoot better than their owners.. Practice with what you buy and enjoy it..

IMG_5868.jpg
 
Well, the problem is that a dedicated LR rig isn't going to be a very good hunting rifle (too heavy), and a hunting rifle won't be that great a LR gun, (sporter-weight barrel will heat up too fast in a long string, and may not be as accurate.)

You can compromise, with a fluted or shorter heavy barrel, but they are just that, compromises.

You may want to read this thread, it talks a bit about chambering choices:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499194

If you do not handload the discussion directly applies to you.

If you Google these phrases you will find a lot of ways people solved what is essentially the same question you are asking:

budget tactical rifle build
budget sniper rifle build
 
Well, the problem is that a dedicated LR rig isn't going to be a very good hunting rifle (too heavy), and a hunting rifle won't be that great a LR gun, (sporter-weight barrel will heat up too fast in a long string, and may not be as accurate.)
Click to expand...

That isn't necessarily true.

Let me go back to the M-70 243 I mentioned. I built it as a hunting rifle, 22 inch medium weight 1:10 twist. Regular M-70 wood stock. Again this was built for my wife who can't handle recoil (she has three rods between her shoulder blades from breaking her back). She had a Leupold 4X scope.

Along comes a precission rifle match which require a bit of physical effort that I had questions about do to my age, ticker, and COPD.

The M-70 is quite a bit lighter then my target rifles. I switched out the scope with a Weaver Tactical 3-12 X scope with Mil Dot,

I loaded 87 grn Berger's, (not to max) and found it had excellent accuracy to 1200 yards. Plus I could go 50 rounds or better without excess barrel heat ruining the accuracy.

You wouldn't shoot that much, that fast, in any match I ever heard of excluding the Infantry Trophy Match (which require service rifles).

The match I set this gun up for required no more then 2 shots at 10 targets in a 5 min time period, Then off to another stage giving the gun time to cool.

An F-class match would be 20 shots in 20 or 30 minutes, not fast enough to heat up the barrel that much.

As long as the barrel does not touch the stock as it heats up, moderately thin barrels (normal hunting contours) does not get too hot to shot something along the lines of the 243 - '06.

Lets go back to the Mosin a second. If you shot that rifle in rapid fire you'll notice the stock gets pretty dern hot. But you don't see accuracy falling off.

The Mosin is the exception to the rule. I've never seen a free floated Mosin that was an improvement over the existing configuration.

There a lot of myths about rifles and accuracy that you hear about on the Internet that just don't pan out on the range.

Accept what you read (including my advice) only after you try it yourself on the range.

To the OP, you mentioned you like the ideal of a 308............good choice, just remember the most accurate velocity of a 30 cal round is about 2200 fps. You'll probably want to go a bit faster but don't go over 2600 for the 168-175 grn match bullets. You're defeating your purpose.
 
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